Thunder rout Kobe-less LA

Sunday

OKLAHOMA CITY — There were no Kobe Bryant dunks Saturday. There was no Kobe Bryant at all.

OKLAHOMA CITY — There were no Kobe Bryant dunks Saturday. There was no Kobe Bryant at all.

He sat out a historically one-sided game against the Oklahoma City Thunder because of a sore right shoulder, the same one that ended his 2014-15 season with surgery for a torn rotator cuff.

He downplayed his discomfort after the Lakers lost, 118-78, their worst showing ever in 236 games against the Seattle/Oklahoma City franchise. He said he would play Tuesday at Denver.

Coach Byron Scott didn’t downplay anything. He called Saturday’s effort "pathetic in every area" and said the Lakers (4-23) appeared to be in awe of the Thunder, if not afraid without Bryant.

"Kobe’s fearless," Scott said. "These guys looked like they were scared tonight or intimidated by (Kevin) Durant and (Russell) Westbrook."

Julius Randle again had difficulty with his accuracy (two points on 1-for-7 shooting) and D’Angelo Russell had more shots (13) than points (12), though he had seven rebounds and five assists at Chesapeake Energy Arena.

Randle and Russell said they weren’t frightened in their first game against the Thunder.

"I only can speak for myself. Definitely not scared," Russell said.

Said Randle: "Not really scared. We didn’t have any energy."

The Lakers started Anthony Brown, Larry Nance Jr., Lou Williams, Roy Hibbert and Jordan Clarkson, something that would have been impossible to envision a few months ago.

Brown, a seldom-used rookie, started in Bryant’s place against Durant. Scott had one hope ahead of time.

"I just don’t want (Brown) to ask for his autograph," he quipped.

Predictably, Durant outscored the Lakers’ second-round pick, 22-4. Westbrook had 13 points and 11 assists for Oklahoma City (18-9). Neither played in the fourth quarter.

Previously, the Lakers’ worst loss to this franchise came in 2000 against the Seattle SuperSonics, who began NBA play in 1967. It was by 33 points.

On Saturday, the Lakers trailed by 34 with three minutes left in the second quarter. They were down 46 in the fourth, bordering their worst loss to any team.

Jordan Clarkson exhaled sharply when told of the history the Lakers made.

"It’s embarrassing," he said after scoring 15 points. "Nobody wants to get blown out like that."

Bryant, 37, wanted to play all the Lakers’ remaining games after announcing he would retire after this season. Saturday marked his fourth missed game — he sat out two last month because of a sore back and another one so he could rest.

He dunked Thursday for the first time this season, an impressive slam in which he moved past Houston forward Trevor Ariza and beat power forward Clint Capela.

"I’m sure it didn’t help," he said, adding that his shoulder bothered him before the play. "It’s been sore for the last couple games. I felt like I was able to play through it and things like that. (Saturday) morning, I got up and it was pretty sore."

Bryant will let the shoulder rest and doesn’t plan on seeing a doctor. He said he wasn’t surprised there was still soreness after undergoing surgery on it 11 months ago.

"It’s just something that needs a couple days," he said.

Any Bryant injury is important to track because his last three seasons ended early — an Achilles’ tendon rupture in 2012-13, a fractured knee in 2013-14 and then his shoulder last season after a baseline dunk in New Orleans.

He was off to a numbingly poor start this season but improved recently, averaging 23 points on 53 percent accuracy the previous three games.

He created time Friday night to dine with Durant, a photo of them quickly circulating on social media.

Was Bryant more of a talker or a listener? Or maybe, you know, a recruiter? Durant will be a free agent next July.

"It was great," Bryant said, declining to go into depth. "We talked about a lot of things, honestly. We talked about basketball. We talked about life."

This wasn’t the first time Bryant met with a player from another team. A social-media storm was created after he ate breakfast with Rajon Rondo last December in Boston. Rondo was traded two weeks later to Dallas and signed with Sacramento last summer as a free agent.

It’s not surprising that the Lakers’ future gets so much attention. The present just isn’t cutting it.

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(c)2015 Los Angeles Times

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